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Shinji tugs her hair to get her attention. “We can wait until we’ve truly put everything behind us. I know I pressured you two into starting a family, but if it’s just the three of us for the rest of our lives, I’ll still be the happiest man on earth.”
Lakeshia’s eyes widen and she extricates herself from between us. She crawls to the end of the bed to kneel facing us. “As sweet as you are for offering to wait, we have less than nine months to prepare.”
Shinji and I lurch forward at the same time.
“You’re…”
“We’re…”
“I found out the day you went missing.” She rubs her stomach.
All the emotions slam into me at once. Fear, joy, exhilaration, awe… even anger.
Shinji’s smile drops as he must have come to the same conclusion as me. “You mean, you walked into that viper’s denknowing you were pregnant? Risking not only your life but that of our child?”
Lakeshia takes a deep breath before meeting our gazes. The absence of the same whiplash of emotions I experienced silences me. “Now’s probably a good time to prepare you for what’s ahead.” She grabs our hands while hers are slightly damp and her grip is tight.
Unease slivers down my spine. One glance at Shinji tells me he feels the same.
“My mom died while having me. She developed a pulmonary embolism and the doctors didn’t catch it because she didn’t have symptoms.”
“Why are you telling us about your mother?” Shinji asks.
“Because I learned that long-term use of birth control puts me at advanced risk. Considering my family history?—”
“No. I’ve heard enough.” I drop her hand and leave the bed. “You are not your mother and this… you preparing us for the worst is bullshit… I’m not having it. You aren’t going to die.”
“Was that why you thought it was okay to make the deal you did with Paul?” A sad note rings through Shinji’s voice. “You thought you would save us future grief if you died before we knew?”
Lakeshia averts her eyes but she can’t hide the steady stream of tears dripping from her chin.
I return to the bed and grab her face. She blinks, taken aback by my fierce frown. “We’re going to fight this together. We know what your mom’s doctors didn’t. So no more of this fatalistic view, you got me? You’re our chiisai senshi no megami. You’re going to harness that stubborn streak that drives me and Shinji crazy with worry and you’re going to show our child what it means to go to battle with your army behind you.”
“Takeshi…”
“Tell me you understand.”
She sniffles and nods. “Yeah, I understand.”
“And you’ll fight?” Shinji asks, his protective instincts roused by our unseen enemy.
She nods again, this time with more determination. “With you two by my side, how can I not?”
CHAPTER 38
Lakeshia
Breathe.
I keep reminding myself to practice the basic action. As I sit between Shinji and Takeshi, I keep my eyes closed and my mind clear. Or as clear as it can be when I’m on my way to attaining the closure my husbands promised me.
After Shinji revealed the news that they imprisoned Paul in one of the family’s seedier buildings, I vacillated between intense rage and terrifying anxiety. But that was last month.
I haven’t gotten over all my apprehension, but I’m able to cope better, and for me, the best thing to rid me of these thoughts is seeing Paul breathe his last.
And because our new Kimura family motto is whatever we want, we get, neither Shinji nor Takeshi try to deny me.
“We can postpone today if you aren’t ready,” Takeshi offers.
